General Surgery Flashcards
What is the best way to distinguish gastroesophageal reflux from other sources of epigastric distress?
PH monitoring his best to establish the presence of reflux
When should endoscopy and biopsies of the esophagus be done?
If there is concern the damage may have been done to the lower esophagus or peptic esophagitis and possible development of Barrett’s esophagus
When is esophageal surgery indicated?
Long-standing symptomatic disease that cannot be controlled by medical means, or anyone who developed complications, ulceration, stenosis and it’s imperative if there are severe dysplastic changes.
What type of surgeries done on the esophagus?
Resection or laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication
How can motility problems be diagnosed?
Barium swallow is typically done first. Manometry studies are used for definitive diagnosis.
How is achalasia diagnosed?
manometry is diagnostic. X-rays show megaesophagus.
Treatment for achalasia?
Balloon dilatation done by endoscopy
Dysphagia that is worse for liquids
Achalasia
Dysphasia starting with meats then other solids then soft foods eventually liquids and finally in several months saliva + significant weight loss that is almost always see
Cancer of the esophagus shows this classic progression
Next step in management if esophageal cancer is suspected?
Barium swallow must precede the endoscopy to help prevent inadvertent perforation. Diagnosis is established with an endoscopy and biopsies. CT assesses operability, but most cases can only get palliative rather than curative surgery.
What are the two types of esophageal cancer?
Squamous cell carcinoma – man with a history of smoking and drinking, blacks have high incidence. Adenocarcinoma - long-standing gastroesophageal reflux.
Mallory-Weiss tear
Belong forceful vomiting eventually bright red blood comes up
Do you diagnose a Mallory-Weiss tear?
Endoscopy establishes diagnosis, and allows for photocoagulation, laser.
Boerhaave syndrome
Starts with prolonged, forceful vomiting leading to esophageal perforation. There is continuous, severe, wrenching epigastric and low sternal pain of sudden onset, soon followed by fever, leukocytosis, and a very sick – looking patient.
Next step in management if Boerhaave syndrome is suspected?
Gastrografin first, barium if negative is diagnostic, and emergency surgical repair should follow. Delay in diagnosis and treatment as grave consequences.
What is the most common reason for esophageal perforation?
Instrumental perforation of the esophagus. Shortly after completion of endoscopy symptoms similar to Boerhaave syndrome will develop. There maybe emphysema in the lower neck. Contrast studies and proper pair are imperative.
Which patient population is more likely to get gastric adenocarcinoma? What are the typical symptoms?
More common in the elderly. There is anorexia, weight loss, and vague epigastric distress or early satiety. Occasionally hematemesis.
How do you diagnose gastric adenocarcinoma and what is the treatment?
Endoscopy and biopsies or diagnostic. CT scan helps assess operability. Surgery is the best therapy.
Incidence of gastric lymphoma versus gastric adenocarcinoma?
Gastric lymphoma is nowadays almost as common as gastric adenocarcinoma. Presentation and diagnosis are similar.
Treatment for gastric lymphoma?
Chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Surgery is done if perforation is feared as the tumor melts away. Low-grade lymphomatoid transformation (MALTOMA) can be reversed by eradication of H. pylori.
What are the signs and symptoms of a mechanical intestinal instruction?
1)Colicky abdominal pain and 2)protracted vomiting, 3)progressive abdominal distention if it is a low obstruction, and 4)no passage of gas or feces. Early on, 5)high pitch ball sounds coincide with the colicky pain after a few days there is silence.
How do you diagnose and mechanical intestinal obstruction?
X-rays will show distended loops of small bowel, with air – fluid levels.
What causes mechanical intestinal instruction?
Adhesions in those who have had a prior laparotomy.
Treatment of mechanical intestinal obstruction
NPO, NG suction, IV fluids, hoping for spontaneous resolution or watching for early signs strangulation. Surgery if conservative management is unsuccessful, within 24 hours in cases of complete obstruction or within a few days in cases of partial obstruction.
Signs and symptoms of a strangulated obstruction
Colicky abdominal pain, protracted vomiting, progressive abdominal distention, no passage of gas or feces, development of fever, + leukocytosis, constant pain, signs of peritoneal irritation, and ultimately full-blown peritonitis and sepsis.
Carcinoid syndrome
Seen in patients with a small bowel carcinoid tumor with liver metastases.
Signs and symptoms of carcinoid syndrome?
Diarrhea, Flushing the face, wheezing, and right sided heart valvular damage look for prominent jugular venous pulse.
How do you diagnose carcinoid syndrome
24-hour urinary collection for 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid. Concentration of offending agent is only high during the time of the attack. A sample taken afterward will be normal. Thus, a 24 hour urine collection is more likely to provide the diagnosis.
Classic picture of acute appendicitis
Anorexia, followed by vague, Umbilical pain that several hours later becomes sharp, severe, constant, and localized to the RLQ of the abdomen. Tenderness, guarding, and rebound is found to the right and below the umbilicus. Moderate Fever and leukocytosis and a 10,000 to 15,000 range, with neutrophilia and immature forms. Emergency appendectomy should follow
What should you do in doubtful presentations that could be acute appendicitis?
Any cases that do not have all the classic findings should use a CT scan which is the standard diagnostic modality for these cases
Anemia (hypochromic iron deficiency) in the elderly for no good reason. Stools will be 4 plus for occult blood
Cancer of the right colon. Colonoscopy and biopsies or diagnostic; surgery – right hemicolectomy his treatment of choice
Bloody bowel movements. Blood coats the outside of the stool, and maybe constipation, stools may have narrow caliber. The next step?
Flexible proctosigmoidoscopy exam to 45 or 60 cm and biopsies are usually the first diagnostic study. Cancer of the left colon is suspected.
Surgical indications for chronic ulcerative colitis?
Disease present for longer than 20 years. High incidence of malignant degeneration, severe interference with nutritional status, multiple hospitalizations, need for high-dose steroids or immunosuppressants, or development of toxic megacolon.
What is toxic megacolon?
Abdominal pain, fever, leukocytosis, epigastric tenderness, massively distended transverse colon on X-rays with gas within the wall of the colon.
What is the definitive surgical treatment of chronic ulcerative colitis?
Removal of affected colon, including all of the affected mucosa which is always involved.
Pseudomembranous enterocolitis
Overgrowth of clostridium difficile who have been on Abx. M/C cause is cephalosporins. Clindamycin was the first described.
Symptoms of pseudomembranous enterocolitis
Profuse, watery diarrhea, crappy abdominal pain, fever, leukocytosis. Tocsin identified in stool
Treatment of pseudomembranous enterocolitis
Metronidazole with vancomycin serving as an alternative
Treatment for pseudomembranous enterocolitis unresponsive to treatment, with a WBC above 50,000 and serum lactate >5
Emergency colectomy
How do you rule out all in a rectal disease cancer
Proper physical exam, including proctosigmoidoscopy, even if clinical presentation may suggest a specific benign process
Anal fissure? who does that happen to and what are the symptoms?
Young women. Exquisite pain with defecation and blood streaked stools. Fear is so intense with bowel movements, constipation results.
Typical exam findings of an anal fissure?
Exam may need to be done under anesthesia, fissure is usually posterior in the midline.
Treatment of anal fissure?
Therapy is directed at relaxing tight sphincter (cause): stool softeners, topical nitroglycerin, local injection of botulinum toxin, forceful dilatation, or lateral internal sphincterotomy. Calcium channel blockers such as diltiazem ointment 2% TID topically for six weeks have had an 80 to 90% success rate compared to only 50% success for botulinum toxin.
Fissure, fistula, or small ulceration in the anal area that fails to heal and gets worse after surgical interventions.
Crohn disease – the anal area typically heals very well because it has an excellent blood supply. Surgery should not be done Crohn’s disease of the anus.
Treatment for a fistula in crohn disease
Drained with Setons while medical therapy is underway. Remicade helps healing.
Rx for ischiorectal abscess
I&D, cancer should be ruled out. If patient is severely diabetic, horrible necrotizing soft tissue infection may follow: watch him closely
Possible complications of ischiorectal abscess that is drained? Treatment?
Fistula in ano - epithelial migration from the anal crypts, where the abscess originated and from the perennial skin form a permanent tract. Rule out the chronic and draining tumor treatment fistulotomy.
Etiology of squamous cell carcinoma of the anus
Fungating mass grows out of the anus, metastatic in with remotes are often felt. More common in HIV-positive.
Treatment for squamous cell carcinoma of the anus
Nigro Chemoradiation protocol, followed by surgery if there’s residual tumor. 5-week chemoradiation protocol has a 90% success rate, so surgery is rarely required.
What locations of G.I. bleeds
Three or four cases originate in the upper G.I. tract, Usually younger patients. Older patients can develop from anywhere differential is angiodysplasia polyps diverticulosis or cancer
Vomiting blood
Always not the source within the upper G.I. tip of the nose to the ligament of Treitz
What is the next best diagnostic test after vomiting blood?
Upper G.I. endoscopy
NG tube aspirates blood where is the source?
Upper sources been established, follow with upper endoscopy
NG tube aspirates no blood, the fluid is white with no bio where is the source?
The territory from the tip of the nose to the pylorus has been excluded, the duodenum is still a potential source. Upper G.I. endoscopy should follow.
NG tube aspirates fluid that is green, bile tinged, where is the source of bleeding?
The entire upper G.I., tip of the nose to ligament of Treitz has been excluded, there is no need for an upper G.I. endoscopy.
When upper G.I. has been excluded, active bleeding per rectum, how do you determine the source?
If it exceeds 2mL per minute or one unit of blood every four hours do an angiogram. If less than 0.5 mLs per minute wait until bleeding stops and do a colonoscopy. If between 0.5 and two, do a tagged red blood cell study
Blood per rectum in a child
Meckel diverticulum. Start work up with technetium scan, looking for ectopic gastric mucosa.
Massive upper G.I. bleeding in the stressed, multiple trauma, or complicated post op patient is probably from? Treatment?
Stress ulcers. Endoscopy will confirm. Angiographic embolization is the best therapy. Maintain gastric pH above four.
What are the causes of acute abdominal pain?
Perforation, obstruction, inflammatory or ischemic processes.
Pain that is sudden onset and constant, generalized, and very severe. Patient is reluctant to move, and very protective of abdomen. Impressive generalized signs of peritoneal irritation of found: tenderness, muscle guarding, rebound, silent abdomen.
Acute abdominal pain caused by perforation: perforated peptic ulcer is the most common example. Emergency surgery is needed.